Headrest

ABSTRACT

A headrest ( 1 ) to be used in vehicles and provided with fastening means for a headband to be positioned around the head of a passenger above the eyes and ears. The fastening means comprise a ring ( 5 ) suitable for the headband to be passed through. The fastening means compris a band ( 6 ) attached in the interior of the headrest, which extends through an opening ( 7 ) in the upholstery, and the ring ( 5 ) is fastened to the band at the exterior of the headrest.

The invention relates to a headrest to be used in means of transportsuch as automobiles intended for use on public roads, or aeroplanes.

Such a headrest is generally known and is used, for example inautomobiles, aeroplanes and other means of transport such as spacewagons, busses and the like. They have also been known to be applied intrains or subways. With all these means of transport there is apossibility that in the event of crashes or collisions an injury issustained, the gravity of which has been recognized and acknowledged forsome years. Said injury is the so-called whiplash occurring during acollision, when the head of the respecting occupant of the vehicle ismoved back and forth in respect of the body. This causes a so-calledacceleration/deceleration trauma of the cervical spinal column. Saidinjury occurs in particular when a body-fixating belt is worn. Thecomplaints accompanying whiplash often give rise to long termabsenteeism resulting from the many possible physical and psychologicalcomplaints, which include chronic fatigue. One thing and another maylead to partial and sometimes full disablement, in any case to long termincapacity for work.

DE-U-29,516,661 discloses an anti-whiplash provision to be used in aracing car. In this provision a band is attached to the helmet of thedriver, which band is connected with a rotatable spool for winding andunwinding in the interior of the racing car, behind the head of thedriver. The spool is provided with stopping means for blocking furtherrotation of the spool during accelerated unwinding of the band.

DE-U-9,001,789 discloses an anti-whiplash provision to be used with achild's seat. This involves a band construction which is applied aroundthe child's head, and which band is coupled with a further band comingout of the back of the child's seat.

The French patent application FR-A-2,721,880 discloses an anti-whiplashprovision comprising a headband which is coupled to a headrest by meansof a band for fastening.

DE-A-4 306 555 discloses an anti-whiplash provision which is alsodesigned as a headband coupled with the headrest of a seat.

In FR-A-2 316 102 a similar headrest is proposed, comprising attachmentmeans for a headband to be positioned around the head above the eyes andears of the user, which fastening means comprise a ring suitable for theheadband to be passed through, wherein the fastening means comprise aband attached in the interior of the headrest, extending through anopening in the headrest's upholstery, with the ring being fastened tothe band at the exterior of the headrest. This band material is pliablebut strong.

The disadvantage of the headrest known from FR-A2 316 102 is that thering forms a loose connection with the headband which may cause that theprotection afforded by the headrest is less effective in preventingwhiplash than desired. This particularly is the case when the connectionbetween the ring and the headband has shifted from its central positionbehind the user's head at the moment the impact giving rise to thewhiplash occurs. A certain twist of the head may than occur resulting ina whiplash despite the use of a headrest which is aimed to avoid such.The invention seeks to avoid this problem.

According to the invention the headband is provided with a flap which ata first end is attached to the headband and at the other end is providedwith a first press-stud part for engaging a second press-stud partaffixed on or in the headband. This provides a simple manner fordetachably fastening the headband to the ring. Appropriately, theheadband itself is not closed but forms an elongated band having a firstand a second end which may be joined, for example by means of Velcro, abuckle or other fastening means.

The fact that from time to time the headband can be detached forcleaning, and that a headband can be applied made from a material or ofa length or colour to concur with the user's wishes, is a furtheradvantage which can only stimulate the use of the provision according tothe invention. The material must be sufficiently strong to withstand thesudden enormous forces that may come to bear on it.

As a rule the headrest comprises an interior which is covered byupholstery. It is advantageous to provide the upholstery around theopening in the headrest with a metal edging whose maximum dimension issmaller than the diameter of the ring. This last measure ensures thatthe ring which is present at the exterior of the headrest, will notdisappear into the interior of the headrest when the headband isdetached. Of course, the band inside of the headrest, to which the ringis attached, can still smoothly slide in and out of the headrest.

The safety afforded by using the provision according to the invention isfurther served by the fact that in the proximity of the opening, theupholstery of the headrest inclines inwards. This measure means that thering itself, which serves for the feed-through of the head band, willnot give rise to injuries as it can be accommodated in the thus formedhollow, while at the same time the head of the user may contact theheadrest even with considerable pressure, without touching said ring.

The attachment means for the headband may possibly form a stiff jointwith the headrest or the interior of the headrest. However, it ispreferred that the fastening means be equipped such that during use,they check decelerations or accelerations of the headband in relation tothe headrest, while permitting uniform movements of the headband. Asuitable embodiment of the above is characterized in that the fasteningmeans comprise a rotatable spool for winding and unwinding the bandattached to said spool in the interior of the headrest, and in that thespool is provided with stopping means which block further rotation ofthe spool during accelerated unwinding of the band.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to thedrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows the headrest in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed illustration of the band coming out of the headrestaccording to the invention, with a ring fastened thereto;

FIGS. 3 and 4 show different views of the ring through which theheadband has been fed in accordance with the invention.

In the Figures similar parts are identified by identical referencenumbers.

The Figures show a preferred embodiment of the headrest according to theinvention, without restricting the scope of protection afforded by theappended claims.

FIG. 1 shows a separate headrest 1 that can be inserted into thebackrest by means of the bars 2 and 3.

However, particular attention is drawn to the fact that the presentinvention does not merely relate to such separate headrests, but alsoapplies to headrests that form an integral part with the backrest of aseat.

The headrest 1 comprises an interior covered by upholstery 4. However,the invention is also applicable when such upholstery 4 is absent. Theheadrest 1 is further provided with fastening means which include a ring5 for a headband to be positioned around the head above the eyes andears. The ring 5 is attached to a band 6 (see also FIG. 2) extendingthrough the upholstery 4 through an opening 7 in the upholstery 4, suchthat the ring 5 is attached to the band 6 at the exterior of theheadrest 1. Around the opening 7 the upholstery 4 is provided with ametal edging whose maximum dimension is smaller than the diameter of theminimum dimension of the ring 5. It will be quite obvious to the expertthat instead of a ring a differently shaped, not truly circular, elementmay be used so that instead of speaking of a diameter, the term minimumdimension would be applicable to this element.

As indicated by arrow A in FIG. 1, in the proximity of the opening 7,the upholstery 4 is inclined inwards. The thus formed hollow serves toaccommodate the ring 5 without the user of the headrest 1 beinginconvenienced by said ring 5.

The fastening means of the headrest 1 are further equipped such thatduring use, deceleration or acceleration of the headband 8 which (asshown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4), is fed through the ring 5, is absorbed,while uniform movements of the headband in relation to the headrest 1are permitted.

To this end the headrest 1 is designed such that the fastening meanscomprise a rotatable spool for winding and unwinding the band attachedto said spool in the interior of the headrest, and that the spool isprovided with stopping means which block further rotation of the spoolduring accelerated unwinding of the band. This is not furtherillustrated in the Figures, but will be sufficiently clear to theexpert.

When applying the invention, it is always of great importance that thesafety headrest is always used together with the safety belt on thebody.

If the headband is used on its own, and a collision occurs, the userruns the risk of being decapitated.

As shown in FIG. 3, the headband may be fitted through the ring 5loosely or, as shown in FIG. 4, may be detachably attached to the ring 5by means of a flap 9 which at a first end (as indicated by arrow B) isattached to the headband 8 and at the other end is provided with a firstpress-stud part 10 for engaging a second press-stud part 11 affixed onor in the headband 8.

In both the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 and in FIG. 4, the headband 8 isto be provided at its ends 11 and 12 with fastening means in the formof, for example Velcro, a buckle, press-studs or the like.

It will be clear to the expert, that within the scope of the inventionsundry other variations on the described embodiment are feasible, all ofwhich are deemed to be within the scope of the appended claims.

With respect to said claims, the above exemplary embodiment merelyserves as elucidation, without limiting said claims in any way.

What is claimed is:
 1. An upholstered to be used in means of transportsuch as automobiles intended for use on public roads, or aeroplanes,comprising fastening means for a headband which is adopted to bepositioned around the head above the eyes and ears of the user, whichfastening means comprise a ring suitable for the headband to be passedthrough, wherein the fastening means comprise a band attached in theinterior of the headrest, which extends through an opening in theheadrest's upholstery, and the ring is fastened to the band at theexterior of the headrest, characterized in that the headband is providedwith a flap which at a first end is attached to the headband and at theother end is provided with a first press-stud part for engaging a secondpress-stud part affixed on or in the headband, so as to allow theheadband to be detachably attached to the ring.
 2. A headrest accordingto claim 1, characterized in that the upholstery around the opening inthe headrest is provided with a metal edging, whose maximum dimension issmaller than the diameter of the ring.
 3. A headrest according to one ofthe claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in the proximity of the opening,the upholstery of the headrest inclines inwards.